Runner picks up speed after avoiding surgery

A YOUNG running junkie from Lucan, who was told that she would need a 12-hour operation to fuse her spine that would leave it unlikely she would ever be able to fully run again, has spoken of her remarkable recovery through exercise.

May Brady (15) had always been very fit and active throughout her life until she started to suffer from severe pain and found running and cycling almost impossible.

It was around the time the pain started that May was diagnosed with scoliosis, which is a severe spinal deformity.

From this point on her life spiralled out of control and she was often left curled up in bed or collapsed in a heap due to the excruciating pain.

Within months May went from being a fit and healthy pre-teen with bags of energy, to behaving like an 80-year-old woman.

She had to give up running and it looked like her condition was rapidly getting worse.

Scoliosis causes the spine to excessively curve sideways. The condition affects more than four per cent of the population and if left un-treated can lead to fatal heart and lung problems.

Current treatment is to wait until the curve becomes so severe that the only option left is to operate. The major operation is an incredibly risky procedure that involves metal rods being inserted either side of the spine, before the spine is fused solid.

May loved the feeling she got from winning a race and competing and tried to take part in some sort of sports every weekend until her health deteriorated.

Not only did she lose her health and flexibility with this new condition, she also lost a huge amount of her confidence and eventually found herself very distanced from her social group.

Her schoolwork suffered terribly as she was unable to concentrate and she often found herself getting up every few minutes to try and alleviate the pain.

It was around this time that she found herself searching through reams of information on the Internet with her mother. But the more she read the more her feelings of hopelessness increased and soon she was left feeling lost and devastated by what this condition had taken from her.

This was until she came across Scoliosis SOS and, for the first time in a long time, she saw a glimmer of hope for the future.

Founded and run by Erika Maude, who has Scoliosis herself, the clinic opened more seven years ago and has since brought relief to hundreds of sufferers.

Located in central London, it is the only clinic in the world to offer treatment following the ScolioGold method that uses internationally renowned non-surgical treatments, which have been practiced separately in Europe for several decades.

May’s mother decided that this treatment could not do any harm and if it worked it could change her daughter’s life.

May was booked onto a four-week treatment course and was overwhelmed by the results she achieved.

Within weeks of being on the course, May’s condition dramatically improved. She was no longer lying awake at night with pain and her confidence soared.

May learnt a set of exercises that strengthened the muscles surrounding her spine and this meant that the scoliosis stabilised.

May felt a massive sense of relief that she would not need to have major surgery.

May has returned home and is back running and cycling. She has regained all of her confidence and has bounced back to her normal fit and sociable self.

“Being pain free and healthy again is like a dream come true,

? May said.

“It’s hard to describe but I felt trapped when I was initially diagnosed, as I thought I would never be able to feel normal again.

“My whole life has turned around, for the first time since I was diagnosed I see a really bright future.

? www.scoliosis.ie